In this report, TJ Ryan Foundation intern scholar, Andre Yeo, analyses the think tank ‘landscape’ in Australia, comparing the financial and personnel resources of several organisations, as well as their research output and impact.
His analysis suggests: ‘Attempting to conceptualise a universal definition of a think tank is an otiose task given the sheer diversity of think tanks, each subtly differing from the other in terms of their roles and functions. Alternatively, Diane Stone proffers that it is more constructive to conceptualise the term ‘think tank’ as an umbrella term. Stone posits that think tanks generally possess several common characteristics, namely: organisational independence, permanency guided by public purpose, autonomy over the setting of research agendas which are policy focused, and stringent assessment standards equivalent to that in academia.’